This invention relates to vehicle interior illumination and to center consoles used within passenger vehicles to provide user conveniences such as storage bins, cupholders, and armrests.
For many years, many different types of passenger vehicles have come equipped with center consoles as either optional or standard equipment on the vehicle. These center consoles are typically installed at a central location within the vehicle most commonly between the driver and front passenger seating. These center consoles provide user conveniences such as, for example, open storage trays for holding small objects, cupholders, an arm rest support, and a closed storage bin for personal effects. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,030 to M. Kimura which discloses a floor mounted vehicle console that includes an open storage tray and a storage bin having a hinged lid. As shown in the Kimura patent, it is known to incorporate illumination into the console, with the Kimura system including a removable illumination device that can be removed from the console and utilized at various locations within the passenger compartment.
For purposes of vehicle interior lighting more generally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,657 to J. Damasky et al. discloses a light system that uses a light-creation unit and light conductors to route light to a plurality of different interior locations for illumination of various vehicle components and areas. For example, the system can include a general illumination function group that uses a single light-creation unit to provide illumination of a door handle, a door lock, a belt buckle, storage receivers, a window handle, a hand brake, an ashtray, a gear lever, a level regulator, foot space, a holding handle, and a sunroof. While enabling a large number of lighting functions to be accomplished using a single light source, interior distributed lighting systems of the type disclosed by Damasky et al. are generally not cost-effective and consequently are not commonly used. The high cost results in part because of the complicated fiber optic (light conductor) harness that must be installed and routed all over the vehicle between different interior components and systems.
Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide a vehicle interior lighting system that can provide a number of interior lighting functions without the high cost associated with many of the currently-known distributed lighting approaches. It is also an object of this invention to provide such a lighting system within a vehicle center console.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a center console assembly that includes a console with an illumination system disposed therein. The console has a receptacle positioned at a first location on the console and it also has an opening positioned at a second location on the console, with the opening being located such that, when the console is installed within the interior of a vehicle at the central location, the opening is oriented relative to a vehicle interior component so as to permit direct illumination of the interior component from light exiting the opening. This opening can be located to provide, for example, internal illumination of a storage bin located within the console, or external illumination of a different vehicle component such as a foot well or seat buckle. Similarly, the receptacle can be, for example, a storage bin, open storage tray, cupholder, or an electrical socket for such things a power connector or data port for a cellular phone or other electronic equipment.
The illumination system includes a light source and at least one waveguide that is optically coupled to the light source for routing of light within the console. The light source is positioned within said console to provide illumination at one of the first and second locations, and the waveguide extends away from the light source toward the other of the first and second locations to thereby conduct the received light toward the other location.
The light source can be used to provide direct illumination of an interior component or area at the first or second location, with the waveguide then routing a portion of the light to the other location. Alternatively, a second waveguide can be used so that each of the two locations receive light routed through a different one of the two waveguides. Additional openings can be used to provide illumination of a larger number of interior components are areas. Also, additional waveguides can be used to carry light to a larger number of different locations.